Article 18: Abolition of titles :

Article 18 is more a prohibition rather than a fundamental right. British Government used to confer titles upon persons who showed special allegiance to them. Many persons were made Sir, Raj Bahadur, Rai Saheb, Knight, etc. These titles had the effect of creating a class of certain persons which was regarded superior to others and thus had the effect of perpetuating inequality. To do away with that practice, now Article 18 provides as under:

(i) No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State.

(ii) No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State.

(iii) No person, who is not a citizen of India shall, while he holds any office or trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President, any title from any foreign State.

(iv) No person, holding any office of profit or trust under State shall without the consent of the President, accept any present, emolument or office of any kind from or under a foreign State.

It has been pointed out by the Supreme Court that the framers of the Constitution prohibited titles of nobility and all other titles that carry suffixes or prefixes, as they result in the distinct class of citizens. However, framers of the Constitution did not intend that the State should not officially recognise merit or work of an extra ordinary nature. The National awards are not violative of the principles of equality as guaranteed by the provisions of the Constitution. The theory of equality does not mandate that merit should not be recognised. The Court has held that the National awards do not amount to “titles” within the meaning of Article 18(1) and they should not be used as suffixes or prefixes. If this is done, the defaulter should forfeit the National award conferred on him/her, following the procedure laid down in regulation 10 of each of the four notifications creating these National awards.